Christmas Morning
by SamKo
Summary: May had worked for weeks on Steven's gift...and was still having second thoughts on whether to even go through with its delivery. Twoshot. Hoennchampionshipping. ORASverse.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone! This is actually my very first genuine Pokémon fanfic! This was originally a prompt from Tumblr user "autumnoutboy," also known as Endless Storm here on this site. Just in time for some warm and fuzzy feelings for the holidays! Merry Christmas!

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><p>May was, first of all, beyond upset with herself that she had waited this long to finish her gift for Steven. Sure, she had thought of the idea weeks ago, but debating on the actual execution of the gift, and arguing with herself of whether the gift was perhaps a little…extreme, had unfortunately, preoccupied her for much of the process.<p>

But somehow, regardless of all that, there she stood in front of Steven Stone's house in Mossdeep, all bundled up with a wrapped giftbox in her hands. A very light snow was falling on the island, and it wasn't cold enough to stick or make a huge impact on the tolerance level of being outside, but it was enough to stereotypically set the mood and send May's brain into a series of hypotheticals for the winter holiday.

It was 6 AM of Christmas morning. May normally wasn't even awake before noon, but truthfully, she hadn't slept at all the night before, as she had been working so diligently all night with her Pokémon trying to finish the present. She was now on her, 2nd, 3rd, wind (or 4th, who knows, she had lost count) and wanted to give her gift before time allowed her to chicken out.

So here she was, still debating on whether she should call Latias again and fly away, despite all the work that went into this present. Steven was giving her gifts all the time, and not willy-nilly gifts, either. Steven's gifts were always something unmistakingly of priceless value to boot, and what did she have to offer him in return? Potential, apparently, that he preached about every chance he saw her. Every time that they ran into each other, all across Hoenn, be it coincidence or chance, he almost always had a gift for her. Was it his intention? Did he mean to spoil her? Or was he so wealthy thanks to his father's corporation that he could afford to spread gifts wherever he roamed? How do you repay that kind of person?

And what do you gift for a person like that? It wasn't like she could simply go shopping in Lillycove for him; he came from the wealthiest family in Hoenn. She could always catch him a Pokémon, but Steven was truthfully just as powerful as she. Steven could genuinely obtain whatever Pokémon he liked, if he wanted. Regardless of however Steven might have seen it, in May's mind, these factors upped the ante to impossible heights that she hadn't previously imagined herself obtaining. It pained her that she couldn't just get him something he needed or a traditional Christmas gift, but ideally, this would all be worth it. Ideally.

Half of May felt that she was overthinking all of this, but the other half, perhaps entirely nerves, was doubtful. Hell, she didn't even know if Steven was home! It was December 25th! For all she knew, he was in the opposite side of Hoenn, Rustboro, with his family. Why hadn't she ever asked? It wasn't that she didn't want to, either, but being with Steven was always a whirl. He always seemed so…smooth, and she so…not smooth. She couldn't explain it, how she suddenly felt dumbed with him. And yet, despite that, he still seemed so happy to see her? For all she knew, he was just being cordial, and that was how he greeted everyone.

Starting to second guess herself again, she touched the Eon Flute in her pocket, only further complicating her feelings about her gift. That had been a gift from Steven, too, and the entire inspiration for this whole project. It had to be now, and she needed to get back to Littleroot soon, as her family was about to get on the road to head back to Johto to be with extended family for the holiday.

With a deep breath, and an attempt to push through this before her only power source of adrenaline wore off, she finally raised her hand to knock on his door. And before she could even knock, May didn't know if her body would roll her eyes at the stereotypical next moment, or if her heart would get caught in her throat, at the door opening inward before her knuckles could make contact.

There he was, the man of the hour, but bundled up for the weather, with a bookbag on his back and a pokéball in his hand.

"Oh," Steven exhaled, upon seeing May first thing, eyebrows lifted and color immediately hitting his cheeks (probably due to the sudden winter breeze that just blew by, May convinced herself), "Good morning, May," he said, a small charming smile unfailingly hitting his lips, "and Merry Christmas. I don't suppose this is a coincidence?"

What was that supposed to mean? And there he went again, leading the situation? How was she supposed to respond to that? "O-of course, it's not a coincidence, Steven, it's Christmas…" May said, hands trembling and heartbeat rising, but she pushed the words out anyway. After seeing Steven's tinted cheeks (that were definitely from the temperature change), May couldn't bring herself to look him in the eyes, and instead stared fiercely at the wrapped box in her hands, now suddenly worrying that everything was wrong with it. Should've used different wrapping paper, used a different bow, and now in her mind, the colors were all wrong, but she forced her hands forward toward Steven anyway, and shut her eyes, unable to watch him take the box from her.

May felt the package lift from her grasp, and she quickly shut her hands into fists at the emptyness, eyes still shut. "It- it's okay if you hate it," she started to explain herself, only to be quickly interrupted.

"May," Steven abruptly interjected her name, "I'm not going to hate it. I'm flattered that you got me anything at all." He put the pokéball that was in his hand back on his belt and scratched the back of his head, sheapishly looking to the side past May, "If I had known I was going to see you today, I would have kept your gift here, but since I thought I wasn't seeing you until New Years, it's at Wallace's place, like we had planned. Weren't you heading out to Johto today?"

Oh gosh, had we talked about that? Now she felt more childish than ever. "Oh, yeah," May mumbled, her hands now fiddling together, her gaze still lowered, "but see, I was just…so excited to give you your gift, but now I'm second-guessing it…" she trailed off, finally bringing her face up to look at Steven. He had been looking at her, and upon making eye contact, went from an unconvinced face to another one of his charming smiles. "May. Again, I'm flattered just by the premise of you wanting to give me something for Christmas, truly," he affirmed, stealing one of May's hands to hold in his own, but May, most likely out of surprise, jerked her hand up and out of his grasp in an instant, and turned her hand into a casual up and down 1-2 wave.

"Yeah, yeah," May teasingly responded, now feeling a little more comfortable in the situation. Perhaps it was Steven's manner of speaking that reminded her that she could still be herself with him, as he always somehow did, "just hurry up and open it. Again, I'm sorry if you hate it, and I won't be offended if you do."

Despite his careful manner of unwrapping the box, it felt like both an instant and an eternity for May, but before she knew it, Steven's eyes slowly widened, and he ever so delicately lifted the contents.

Inside was a ring, a silver band, and centered on it, a mystical and beautiful stone of a pink and deep blue gradient, set within another red stone, the shape of the abdominal marking of Latios.

A few seconds went by after Steven had opened the box, so May decided to start explaining. "I know you like wearing rings, and I hope this one isn't too fancy for you." She chuckled a bit after that though, as if anything could be 'too fancy' for Steven Stone. "If you can't tell, the center stone is made of-"

"Soul Dew…" Steven muttered, still in awe, "How did you-"

"Shhh, that part I can explain another time. But right now," May said, now getting to the part that she worried was too extreme. Out from her fanny pack, she revealed a second ring, almost identical to the one she had given Steven, but instead of a red outer stone, this ring had a blue stone, to match the marking of Latias.

"They're a pair, and I was hoping…" May continued, trying to gather her courage for this piece of the puzzle, her face visibly becoming more colored, "that we would wear these rings together. Yours is Latios, and mine is Latias, and just like the Pokémon, each is actually symbolic of each other, the perfect complimenting pair. I thought that maybe, since it's thanks to you that I even know these wonderful Pokémon, and how close we've become," May stopped briefly, wondering if that word choice was too much, as the theory of him not even feeling the same way was still a possibility at this point, "-how close we've become to these Pokémon throughout these past few months," good save, "that we can wear these rings together."

Steven still hadn't said anything, but he was holding the ring up, his eyes wandering back and forth between the ring and May's face. May could feel the blood rushing to her head, be it the cold or the hormones, and the constant snow was not helping. She wondered how Steven felt about the snow in addition to this scenario.

"You," he finally responded, clearly taking his time to find the right words, "you made these rings yourself?!" he asked carefully, but still with some unidentifiable drive in his voice.

May nodded, and quietly added, "with some help from my Pokémon, of course." It was her turn to smile at the ground and scratch the back of her head, her other hand still holding her complimenting ring up, as she said, "I know you like rings, and I know how much you love precious stones. I thought that by combining the two, in addition to Latias and Latios…"

That was it. She suddenly felt a hand grasp hers that held the ring, and her head shot up to make embarrassing eye contact with Steven. His cheeks were definitely rosy, and May couldn't help but think, regardless of the reason, it definitely wasn't because of the cold anymore. Steven's mouth opened as if he were about to speak, but nothing came out except a cloud of steam in the winter air. He just stood there, squeezing May's hand between them, their cheeks now matching shades of crimson.

"Did you-" Steven tried to speak, then swallowed. He was still maintaining eye contact, and May could feel herself getting light-headed. She had no idea where this was going. Of course she had an idea of where she wanted this to go, but the sheer rush of blood and hormones was preventing her from having any kind of foresight into the situation.

"Did you…" he tried again, "did you make a gift like this for anyone else?" he almost breathed, and took in a deep breath after speaking. May felt a lump in her throat at this question.

"Well, no," May uttered shyly, almost ashamed, and started to look down again, "I would be lying if I said I put in as much effort into anyone else's gift. I guess that sounds kind of crappy of me, huh?" she asked awkwardly, with an awkward giggle to follow. "And I have to be perfectly honest with you too," she continued, looking off to the side, because Steven was still holding her hand and looking at her with anticipation that she suddenly didn't know if she could handle, "I didn't sleep much last night. With the combination of trying to make sure your gift was perfect, to debating on even giving this ring to you, I'm kind of a wreck,"

May had looked back up at Steven, and he had cocked an eyebrow when she mentioned possibly not even giving him the gift. May knew how to elaborate on that point. "I mean, you're always giving me this and that, for as long as I've known you, and I haven't ever gotten you anything. I wanted to make sure what I got you was special, that you'd be impressed."

Steven let out a nervous chuckle at that last bit, and it was May's turn to look confused. "Sorry, but," he began to say, his hand now squeezing hers tighter, if that was even possible. May felt a rush of electricity through her hand up her arm and into her heart. "May, you've always impressed me, from day one. And I guess that's why you could say I want to give you things…because I feel like I have to accommodate somehow, as I've always felt my personality to be a bit…lacking…"

Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope nope nope. She couldn't handle it anymore. This whole thing had become so incredibly innocently flirty and she couldn't take it.

"Steven."

Steven stopped talking and his brows furrowed. "Steven," May said again, "I'll need to get going soon…so let's put them on? I had to guess on your ring size, so I hope it fits…"

"Oh, yes, of course," Steven said, finally letting go of May's hand and then looking at his own fingers, still holding the ring. May knew that Steven already had rings on his index and ring fingers, which, with his ring fingers already having rings on them, made this whole deal just a smidgen less awkward when choosing what finger he'd wear the ring on. She didn't think it was too big, but he could always wear it on his thumb if it was. But hopefully, it would go on his middle finger just fine.

Which, it didn't. Steven tried sliding it on his middle finger, and it stopped just at the second knuckle.

"Oh, Steven, I'm so sorry-"

Steven chuckled softly, "May, it's really no problem. It's just barely too small. I can always get it resized, no problem. But," he continued, his voice softening, as if he could sound any more sincere, "I do want to wear it now, so I'll just have to take one of my other rings off for now."

May swallowed hard, and hoped as she watched him that he'd take off a ring from one of his index fingers.

He didn't.

He took the ring off of his ring finger.

He took the ring off of his ring finger on his left hand.

There was no way he was conscientious of that, May decided, but she absolutely was. She felt her ears burning up as she watched him innocently slip her gift on his finger, and he continued to admire it all the same. Her heart fluttered a moment, noticing how happy Steven seemed to be with it, though. That in itself was a relief. She had done good.

"Here, May, let me put yours on, too!"

Steven seemed so genuinely happy, and May was beaming, now that she had accepted that she caused it. She did something right for him! She let him take her ring from her and she kept her fingers extended, as he gingerly took his hand and then…oh no. No, that was too much to not be a coincidence. He was sliding it onto her ring finger. Did she say something? Was she supposed to say something? Was Steven reading further into this which for she had prepared herself?

After the ring was placed on May's finger, Steven continued to hold her hand by her fingers, admiring her ring as well. And what happened next just went by too quickly for May to even interpret it in that moment.

Steven let go of May's hand, and suddenly his arms were wrapped tightly around her back. Just as May was absent-mindedly about to return the embrace, Steven pulled back just slightly, and May felt one of his arms disappear from her back, suddenly feeling the warmth of his hand cupping the side of her face. "This is the best present I've ever gotten, May. These rings mean so much to me," he barely breathed against her ear, and May felt just a flutter of his lips graze her cheek in the most delicate kiss. He drew back, his hands now resting on her shoulders, and cheeks ablaze.

May stood completely still. What was she supposed to make of that? Was she supposed to make anything of that? They stood there for a little bit, just like that, his hands still on her shoulders, still maintaining that horribly embarrassing but enriching eye contact, as May felt a forest of blooms grow in her stomach and chest.

"Well," Steven said, his eyes darting left and his hands giving a quick squeeze before withdrawing them back to his person, "We should probably be on our way, huh? You've got a bit of traveling to do yet today."

It was true. May needed to fly back to Littleroot, and then her family was en route to Goldenrod in Johto to be with her family for the holiday. So with that, she reached in her pocket for the Eon flute, and called upon Latias to come pick her up. It was also true that they probably could have flown together on Latias, as Littleroot was on the way to Rustboro, but May felt as though she would burst like Mount Chimney if she spent anymore time with Steven.

Latias arrived, and May hopped on. Attempting her best to not behave too feverishly, she managed a little wave and called out, "Merry Christmas, Steven! Tell your dad I say hello!" and with that, she flew off, leaving Steven waving back at her, and then calling out for his Skarmory and taking off himself.

The whole flight back, May couldn't help but play back the entire gift exchange in her mind. Over and over, she felt the chills and goosebumps that had accompanied all of their awkwardness and strange compliments. She also made a point of switching her ring over to her other hand. After all, they weren't promise rings or anything like that, right? Either way, there was definitely something between her and Steven, but she definitely didn't feel like explaining that to her parents and extended family today.

But it sure would be hard to not think about him as every relative asks, "So, do you have a boyfriend yet?"


	2. New Year's Eve

**Hello Again! I know this was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but I got several requests to make a continuation, specifically, Steven giving his gift to May in the same universe, so here it is! I know it's a little late, as it's based on New Year's Eve, but I hope you can still somehow enjoy this piece! Thanks for reading!**

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><p>New Year's Eve. That's when she'd see Steven again. New Year's Eve. Wallace was having a party at his place in Sootopolis, and naturally they had both been invited. So, naturally, that was the original intention of when they were planning on exchanging gifts for the holidays, was at said party. Of course, due to a complete meltdown caused by a lack of sleep and high levels of infatuation (or at least, May was fairy certain that was the cause of it), those little details had completely slipped her mind when she decided that she needed to give her gift to Steven on Christmas morning.<p>

Which, in turn, led to high levels of mostly innocent but still embarrassing eye contact and hand-holding. So really, one might say that the little all-nighter she pulled ended up being completely worth it.

Which was why, strongest trainer in the Hoenn region, May, could not settle her tizzy brain and stomach on her flight from Littleroot to Sootopolis. The party was meant to start at 8:30, so she left with Latias at 8:30, in hopes of the party already being populated and busy by the time that she got there, and not being one of the first awkward few at the scene. And by first awkward few, in her mind, she really meant herself and Steven. She knew Steven would be there on time if not before, as there was no doubt in her mind that Wallace would've wrapped him into helping him get ready for the party. And it wasn't that May wasn't wanting to see Steven, either, but in fact, quite the opposite. However, she was definitely nervous.

When May eventually got to Wallace's place, she was somewhat surprised at what she saw. There were maybe 12-14 people there, all sitting in the living room (which was also covered in cheesy decorations, no surprise there). But what was surprising, was the format of the room. Some people were paired off in discussions, but the small majority of guests were settled around a table playing some game. May didn't know what she had expected, but she found herself feeling relieved with both the number of people there, and the layout of the "party." TV and movies always made parties out to be huge and loud and dark. The room was decently lit, there was some background music underneath the sound of somewhat loud conversation (people were drinking, after all), and there was a table set up against the wall full of party foods and spirits. This was definitely more of May's scene.

As May entered the room, it was easy for everyone to momentarily pause and welcome her presence, and the whole room chimed in a resounding and excited, "May!" Wallace immediately stood up and walked toward her, arms wide, "Welcome to my humble abode, champion of Hoenn! Please, help yourself to something to eat and let me get you a drink!" Now walking towards the make-shift bar, he continued, "What will you be having tonight? Our house punch this evening is Poliwrath Punch, a delightful blend of pamtre berry juice, rum, sitrus berry bitters, and topped off with belue berry wine!"

"Wow, then it's not even a question, I'll have a glass of that!" May said, her pep returning, grateful that he offered. May wouldn't have known what to ask for, anyway. She pulled out a tall brown bag and said, "I also brought a bottle of Luvdisc Blush for midnight!" She pulled the pink bubbly champagne out of the bag and set it on the table next to all the other bottles. For the amount of people here, it seemed like they sure had a lot of liquor. It was actually May's mother who told her to bring a bottle of something, too. Apparently it was customary to bring a bottle of _something_ for a New Year's Eve party. May didn't drink much, so she had consulted Lisia when she was trying to decide what to buy for the evening.

"Oh, I see you went with my suggestion!" Lisia exclaimed. May's attention was immediately brought to her, who was sitting at the table, and May began to approach. Also at the table was Winona, Brawly, Flannery, Phoebe, Sidney, Roxanne, and of course, the one she was the most anxious about seeing, Steven Stone. And respectively, May shared greetings with everyone at the table. When May got to Steven, he just barely raised his hand and cheekily waved at her, giving a sheepish side-smile. May just lifted her shoulders and grinned back at him.

"Well come on, sit, sit!" Lisia cheered at her, patting the now empty spot between her and Steven, which was clearly where Wallace was sitting prior. May naturally hesitated at first, but before she could even look back to check with Wallace, she heard him say, "Don't worry Miss Champion, I'll pull up another chair." May did her best to look pleased as she worked her way over to sit between Steven and Lisia, and not let it show that her head was actually spinning about sitting right next to Steven. At least, May figured, this could prevent them from having awkward eye contact from across the table. Yeah, now it was just going to be full of awkward "am I too close," bumping elbows, grazing hands, and accidental thigh touching.

Accidental.

Right after sitting down, May couldn't help but turn towards Steven and flash him a shy smile and ask "How was your Christmas?" As soon as she looked at him though, she noticed, his eyes were downcast towards her hands and forehead was just slightly creased. He turned his head and raised his eyes and eyebrows after her question though to meet her face, and his expression changed from somewhat dazed back to his usual princely stature with a smile.

"I had a marvelous holiday. Pleasant company, and definitely better food than what I eat regularly, that's for sure," he answered, chuckling a bit after, "and yours?"

"I ate too much like I always do and went right into a food coma! Granny's food kinda always has that effect on me," May said, also giggling after her response.

"Well," Steven responded back, lowering his voice just a touch, "You had also had a long day so far at that point too, so it's understandable that you fell asleep at some point."

Just in time to prevent May from getting too blushy at Steven's nonchalent reminder of their last encounter, Wallace had returned to the table with May's drink and another chair for himself. "May, you're just in time to join us for a game of _Shots and Ladders_!" Wallace proclaimed.

May looked down at the table. The board definitely looked like the childhood game of _Shoots and Ladders_, but the game pieces were definitely shot glasses. There was also text on a lot of the squares. Some were clear with "Truth" or "Dare," but some of them just had nonsensical messages on them.

"But don't worry," Phoebe chimed in, "if you're not comfortable taking shots, you can take a sip of your drink instead when you go down a slide, or if you land on something else that requires a shot, you can have your drink instead."

May was definitely relieved to hear that. She definitely didn't drink very often (or ever? Maybe just a martini or something on her 21st, but nothing major then or since then), so at least this way, even playing a game, she could try to monitor her intake _somewhat_.

They began to play, to drink, to eat, and to overall be merry. Roll the dice, move that many spaces, follow any directions you might have, the game was simple enough to understand. One round, everyone had to put their Pokénav on the table in a pile and the first one to go off had to drink.

It was during a round of waterfall while May was watching Steven to finish drinking, that she noticed the ring she gave him was still on his ring finger on his left hand.

So he wasn't able to get it resized yet, okay, not a big deal. It had only been five days, after all, and everyone is usually still caught up in the spirit of the holidays during that last week of December. Still, May felt her cheeks get hot, although it could definitely be the punch she was still drinking during this seemingly forever round of waterfall.

And of course they bumped elbows for every thumb master in attempt to sneak their thumbs onto the table.

Another round, Wallace got stuck "speaking with Archie's accent" until his next turn.

"Aye? Fancy I better fix meself another…grog?" Wallace said with the most awful pirate-esque accent anyone had ever heard, and everyone laughed vicariously in their tipsiness as Wallace dismissed himself to get another drink.

It wasn't until this momentary pause in the game that May noticed that her side-chats with Steven were becoming fewer and shorter. At this time, he was turned to his right, having an engaging conversation with Roxanne.

_No, don't be dumb, don't be stupid, don't be jealous._

Besides, it wasn't like she hadn't been getting girly-chatty with Lisia at her left all night. It was so nice to see her outside of the contest hall. Sure, she wasn't in her Contest Spectacular attire, but she still looked amazingly fabulous as always. May was definitely grateful for becoming friends with Lisia for things like that. It was thanks to her that May had an outfit for the party, brought a suitable table offering, etc etc. Lisia was quite the socialite.

What also probably helped May and Lisia have uninterrupted girly side-chat was that every time Brawly attempted to snag her attention, Wallace eyed him down.

"Alright, so," Lisia started up again, this time grabbing May's hands to turn her towards her, but holding onto them while she talked, "I was obviously too sober to ask about them before, and now that Steven is distracted, now's the perfect time."

_Oh my gosh **what.** Lisia no what are you about to say next?_

"You've got to tell me what's going on with these rings? I didn't want to ask Steven cause I figured he'd go off into a nerd rant but when you got here and I saw that you had the same one, I just HAD to ask you! They're so beautiful! Where did you get yours?"

_Oh my gosh she had NO IDEA_. May had a slight moment of relief while her partially inebriated mind scraped for how to explain the one-of-a-kind jewelry, while at the same time trying to keep her ear trained on the conversation happening to the right of her, so far only being geology jargon she didn't understand. _Oh well I made them myself with my Pokémon and they're made of a special stone and designed to represent a Legendary Pokémon that we have a special bond over. Oh and also he's wearing his on his RING FINGER._

But actually, May might have said all of that had they been a little more private.

"Oh, well, ah," May jumbled, but decided it was okay to disclose a little bit, since the conversation behind her was definitely still rock-talk, "It's hand-crafted, and modeled after Latias…"

"Hand-crafted? Oh my gosh that's so cool! And based on a legendary Pokémon, huh? Too cool!" Lisia gushed, still holding May's hands and examining the ring, "It's just so beautiful, and I was hoping I could get one like it, but I guess not if it's one of a kind. Bummer! But still really awesome!"

And in that pause of dialogue, was when May's ear picked up the question.

"So you've got to tell me about this ring! I know it's new and I've wanted to ask all night. Where did you get it? What stone is set in there?"

May could feel all the blood rushing to her head. Her face felt hot enough to cook an egg, and she knew this was all nerves, because she had been drinking only water for the past hour (much to Lisia's dismay).

She could feel Steven shift slightly behind her before he answered. Did she turn around? Or did she continue having a conversation with Lisia so as to not make the rings with Steven an entire thing? Would Steven make it an entire thing?

May couldn't help herself but to turn ever so slightly to the right and the moment she did, she felt Steven do the same. To Roxanne, she probably felt like she had asked a perfectly acceptable and normal conversational question, but May felt like the world slipped into half-time. Did everyone around them see how awkward this was, or were things just moving more slowly for May in her mind? Steven was already giving an answer and she felt her brain wipe clean so she could listen to his response.

"It's set with Soul Dew, the stone of myth surrounding Latios and Latias, and the ring itself has much history surrounding it. I'm incredibly lucky to have come into ownership of this piece."

Had she heard him correctly? Steven had just given an explanation that was both flattering _and_ ambiguous? The lump in her throat started to dissipate but there were approximately 23 Beautifly in her chest fluttering about. The fact that Steven worded it so articulately, so precisely without including her or the actual meaning in the explanation, implied the understood implications of those rings.

Wait. That was definitely a large and warm hand that covered May's right hand. And that hand definitely grasped her hand from underneath and gingerly lifted her hand. He was holding her right hand, which had her matching ring on it, with his left hand, where he still had _his ring on his ring finger_. Yup, he was definitely showing everyone. That was exactly where this was going.

Or was it? May tensely turned to look at Steven, and in the process, realized that, as she looked around the room, everyone was having their own side conversations and the only people particularly paying them any attention were Roxanne and Lisia, but it looked like Roxanne had already moved on to Brawly. When May looked at Steven, he was looking at her hand, gently gracing his thumb over her fingertips. He then lifted his gaze to meet May's eyes, and his cheeks were definitely flushed, causing May to dart her eyes toward the table to identify his glass, which was empty, so she could correlate the color of his cheeks to that.

"May…" Steven started, holding eye contact with her. May was trying to sort through her debacle of just how much she had to drink tonight and how much of what she was feeling right now in this moment was due to how much she drank tonight (which wasn't that much? She had maybe two glasses and water after each but she had no idea what time it was) or the scenario that was unfolding before her that she also had no idea quite what said scenario was. All she knew was that she was looking into Steven's eyes, and he was holding her hands yet again, and looking at her with some form of longing in his eyes.

"I…still need to give you your Christmas present," Steven said, somewhat cautiously, somewhat searching May's face with his eyes. "Is it okay if we go outside? It's getting kind of loud and warm in here."

May simply nodded, and without a moments' hesitation, Steven stood up, still holding onto one of May's hands, and led her toward the front door. This was really happening. Steven was leading her out of the apartment, just the two of them. And it seemed normal, yet thrilling at the same time.

Once they got outside, they stood against the side of the house at first. He was still holding her hand, but was now looking up at the sky, so May joined him and looked up, too. It was surreal, looking up at the night sky from within the crater that was Sootopolis. While she was still looking up, she felt a release of her hand, and then a moment later, when she looked back at Steven, his arms were around her neck.

Yup, he was definitely fastening a necklace.

"It's not quite anything compared to what you got me…" Steven started, now that the necklace was fastened around her, bringing a shy hand behind his head and looking slightly lower than her face at the new pink pendant that hung around her neck, "but this stone reminded me of you, and I thought you should wear it," then, his face becoming an even deeper shade of crimson (which could totally be because of the chilly night air), he continued, now attempting to keep eye contact with her, "it would definitely go with your contest outfit, I think."

May looked down at her gift, seeing the new necklace that had been given to her. It was a pink gemstone, barely refined, minimally held by a tiny screw and on a silver chain. It was definitely pretty, May had to give him that, and she knew stones were a huge deal to Steven, and not just anybody was so lucky as to receive a gift from him that involved a gem stone he found, nonetheless one he said had _reminded him of her._

"Steven, I really love it," May almost whispered, still looking down at the pendant and bringing a hand up to hold it and better examine it. When she tilted it in her fingers, it gave off a soft white glow thanks to the moonlight. It really was very pretty, she realized, now noticing the flecks of white and maroon. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to start showing some more interest in stones, if it meant that it was something she could talk about with Steven.

May watched as two hands joined hers at the stone that sat just above her breast, and would be surprised if Steven couldn't feel her heightening heartbeat with how close his hands were, because she felt her heart was about to burst through her chest. He was drawing closer again, and May tried to push through the embarrassment to look at his face, and he lifted his eyes to do the same, their faces only inches apart.

Steven let out a small sigh of relief, and grew a cheeky half-smile. "I'm thankful you like it," he voiced softly, now letting go of the stone and focusing both hands on her one hand, "it suits you quite nicely, and I hope you find occasions suitable to wear it."

"Hah, more like if I'm ever gonna take it off!" May chimed cheerily, unable to stop a small grin that she immediately covered with a fist of her free hand.

Steven's smile disappeared, and he looked at May with a touch of surprise. _Wait, was what I said bad?_ Then Steven let go of her hand, and turned to lean back again on the side of the house, a fist over his mouth and head tilted down, brow furrowed and eyes focused on the ground.

"My apologies, May," Steven started, and thank goodness for that, because May was unsure of quite what was going on with him or how to address it. Why did he suddenly break their closeness? "I've had more to drink tonight than I initially anticipated. Those rounds of waterfall are definitely what got me."

Was that it? Beyond the color of his face, May didn't particularly notice his behavior to be any different or abnormal. May tried to push a small laugh and said, "You were always unobservant for thumb-master, too."

"Yes, my attention tonight has definitely been...elsewhere," he responded, even now still retaining a very flushed hue across his cheeks. "May, please tell me, have I been too..._bold_...tonight?"

Now was May's turn to look surprised. _Bold?_ Interpreting that she might want to be careful of how she worded things as to not be misunderstood, due to Steven recognizing that he was in fact at the very least somewhat inebriated, May couldn't help but be forward in her next question. "Well, I don't know particularly about tonight, but do you realize what finger you've been wearing my ring on?"

At these words, Steven shot his eyes back at May, but his face immediately turned into embarrassment, and then he looked back down at the ground, now throwing his hand behind his neck once again, "Yes. I'm concerned that I've been misconstruing this whole ordeal. I noticed early on tonight that you had changed the finger of your ring and since then, I've been trying to anticipate how to have this conversation, which," Steven chuckled softly, now pushing his hand through his hair front to back, "I suppose the Poliwrath Punch took care of that?"

May had no earthly idea as how to respond initially. Was that a..._confession_...that she just heard? At least now she understood all those gazes she caught of his eyes to her hands, and now they made some sense. Even though her entire face was hot and her brain and heart felt that they were about to melt at this potential realization, May knew she needed to try to push through with being as forward as possible, without completely losing it. She stepped back up to Steven, closing the division that he had created, and it was her turn to clasp both of his hands in her own, and intently look up at his face. Steven's eyes widened slightly and lips parted barely at the sudden surprise of contact and attention.

"O-of course," May blurted out, trying her hardest to maintain eye contact, "of course that was the intention of my rings...but..." Okay, that was enough. May turned her face to the side, but dipped her head in closer to Steven's chest, and continued on, "I tried to be somewhat ambiguous about it. I didn't think it'd go over as well as it did. I didn't want to assume..."

"that it'd be the greatest gift I received this year?" Steven finished for her when she trailed off. May snapped her face back toward Steven's, and he was staring at her with such intensity, that May felt a forest of vines and blooms erupt throughout her chest. Again, just like when Roxanne asked about the ring, a pleasant response, but one that still had a veil of ambiguity. It was that small amount of unsureness that caused so much anxiety, but somehow at the same time, some sort of obscure thrill that she craved.

They stood just like that for a moment, May still tightly holding his hands between them and the two awkward young adults silently trying to understand one another. Their faces were so close, May could just barely feel the heat of his breath when it reached her face. But Steven wasn't breaking away this time. May had to figure out how to make things clear. Then, in a split second, they heard the distant roar of "TEN! NINE! EIGHT!"

Steven slipped a small sigh, eyes slightly downcast and his small half-smile back again, saying, "Sorry, looks like we're about to miss it."

This was it. This was her chance. She had to take it. May giggled and, after taking a deep breath, whispered, "Why would you say that? No we're not."

"THREE! TWO! ONE!"

And the moment after "one" was heard, May pushed away her anxiety as hard as she could, rose to her tip-toes, closed her eyes, and made contact with Steven's lips with her own. The sudden change in temperature from the cold night air to his warmth sent an electric pulse through her body. She let go of his hands and reached up to his shoulders, bringing her hands to the sides of his neck with which she could better angle herself. With that motion, she felt Steven's body ease, as he then also shifted his head, and answered her lips with soft caressing from his own, naturally dipping his head to better meet hers.

His arms then encased around her, slipped behind her waist, pulling her in up and closer to him. May found herself completely immersed in that moment, as Steven's lips urged on hungrily upon her own, soft, yet firm. It was all so sweet, the taste of drink still on their lips, only heightening the anticipation. May found her hands massaging his neck in response, and in answer to that, as slight as it was, Steven uttered a soft moan into her mouth, shooting an indescribable jolt of energy through her body.

Taking that as a devilish opportunity, May slowly pulled herself back, but keeping her forehead tilted toward Steven. She watched as his eyelids flashed open, his silver eyes fixated on her rosy lips, and watched in moderate amusement as he took the time necessary to realize what had just occurred. Their bodies still entwined, and hearts beating hard enough to hear, May whispered, "See? We didn't miss anything. Happy New Year."

Be it the combination of how and when their moment of longing ended, or the realization that everything that happened, did happen, and was in fact _real_, Steven's face and neck were completely red, and that only continued to fuel May's hormones, knowing for sure this time, that the color was in fact thanks to her. "Yes, Happy New Year, indeed."

When they came back inside, everyone was just back to doing their own thing in small groups. Wallace was up at the food table again and called out to May for her to come to him. She felt her senses heighten as she approached him, because he definitely had a knowing look on his face.

"Dear, do you know what stone that is?"

"Uh," May was baffled, "No, actually, Steven just gave it to me and didn't say. All he said was that it reminded him of me." Amazing. Steven had given May a stone and didn't explain what it was? She should've asked.

"Well," Wallace responded, clearly attempting to stifle a chortle, "I've spent enough time with Steven to know that _that_ is _tugtupite_, and you'll be doing yourself a favor if you learn a little bit about it if you're going to be wearing it."


End file.
